The league has suspended Wes Welker for four games for violating its policies against performance-enchancing drugs, according to a report by ProFootballTalk.com.
Like teammate Matt Prater, Welker won't be eligible to play until Week 6 (the team has a bye in Week 4).
For those with waiver-wire access, this makes Andre Caldwell an appealing option. He'll be their starter in those first four games. Cody Latimer is a better long-term receiver than Caldwell (as in 2015 and beyond) but he's just a rookie and is unlikely to be ready for more than just a few plays in September.
For Welker, the plus side is that it gives him a few more weeks to fully recover from the concussion he suffered a few weeks back. Welker has been knocked out of three of his last 10 games with concussions.